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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29829432">business partners</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Eclectic_Bookworm/pseuds/The_Eclectic_Bookworm'>The_Eclectic_Bookworm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>in which giles and jenny get married [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Season/Series 05, getting married for Just Business Reasons Obviously No Doubt About It</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 20:54:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,355</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29829432</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Eclectic_Bookworm/pseuds/The_Eclectic_Bookworm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“So why <i>aren’t</i> you two married?” said Anya abruptly, causing the unpacking process within the Magic Box to screech to a grinding halt.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jenny Calendar/Rupert Giles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>in which giles and jenny get married [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2192832</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>business partners</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this is a leftover piece from <i>the horrors of monogamous matrimony</i> that i wrote a quick little ending to, because it doesn't totally fit with the mood of that fic but i still find it abominably cute!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So why <em>aren’t </em>you two married?” said Anya abruptly, causing the unpacking process within the Magic Box to screech to a grinding halt. Xander, by this point very used to Anya’s to-the-point interjections, buried his face in his hands with a soft groan, dropping the box he was holding (which was, unfortunately, marked <em>EXTREMELY FRAGILE)</em>. Willow, who had been very unsubtly looking for an engagement ring on Ms. Calendar’s finger since her senior year, clapped both hands to her mouth, staring daggers at Anya as though asking the question might scare Giles and Ms. Calendar away from the prospect. Tara, who Buffy sometimes suspected understood things better than she let on, pressed <em>her </em>hands to her mouth to hide her laughter; Faith, <em>obviously, </em>had no such qualms. And Buffy—</p><p>Well. Buffy was pretty sure she knew how this one was going to play out. This wasn’t her rodeo, though, so she smiled a little to herself, leaning against the counter and watching Ms. Calendar slowly look up from her paperwork.</p><p>“I only ask because it makes a significant amount of fiscal sense,” Anya was continuing. “Healthcare benefits, tax benefits—all of these things can benefit the two of you as you start a business together. Besides which, being a partner in a business isn’t <em>too </em>dissimilar to being married, at least in my estimation; both involve negotiation, compromise, and continuous communication. I like to think of myself as previously <em>married </em>to being a vengeance demon. With all of that in mind, I don’t really see why—”</p><p><em>“Are </em>we not married?” said Ms. Calendar, frowning thoughtfully in the same way she had when Giles had asked her if she’d remembered to pick up his suit from the dry cleaners. “Did we forget to do that?”</p><p>“Anya’s right, I think we did,” said Giles. Though he was just as casual as Ms. Calendar about it, Buffy knew <em>him </em>well enough to catch the way his mouth twitched. “I still have that contact at City Hall, you know. I’m sure we can drop in and get things sorted as soon as today.”</p><p>“Holy shit <em>what,” </em>said Xander, looking up from his hands with wide eyes. “Are you two—”</p><p>“dhjssjf!hddsd!” said Willow, swaying where she stood.</p><p>“Careful, sweetie,” said Tara, placing a steadying hand on Willow’s back.</p><p>“Well, tax benefits,” said Giles, as though this explained everything. “And it really does make co-owning a business together <em>much </em>simpler.”</p><p><em>“Way </em>less paperwork,” agreed Ms. Calendar. Now <em>her </em>mouth was twitching. “Willow, honey, do you need some water?”</p><p>“Jenny, our oversight unfortunately <em>does </em>take precedent at this juncture,” said Giles, who was already putting on his jacket. “I <em>am </em>sorry to leave all of you in the lurch like this, but we’ll be back in an hour to—”</p><p>“WHAT,” said Faith, who had finally fully registered the situation.</p><p>Casually, Buffy said, “Can you pick me up a Hershey’s bar? I’m on my period and I’m having the <em>worst </em>cravings.”</p><p>“Got it,” said Ms. Calendar, tapping her temple and flashing Buffy a grin. “Married, Hershey’s bar—anyone else need me to get anything?”</p><p>“Wait, <em>backtrack,” </em>said Xander loudly. “Ms. Calendar, are you <em>seriously </em>saying that—”</p><p>“Ease up, Xan,” said Buffy, grinning back at Ms. Calendar. “You want us to come with?”</p><p>“No, this’ll be quick,” said Giles, and he and Ms. Calendar shared a small smile of their own.</p><p>“B-b-but <em>married!” </em>Willow finally managed, leaning heavily on Tara. “Wh—if—<em>married?!”</em></p><p>“Well, <em>that’s </em>sensible of you,” said Anya, smiling helpfully. “I had a feeling you two had forgotten.”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s us,” Ms. Calendar agreed gamely. “<em>Totally </em>forgetful.”</p><p><em>Married!!!! </em>Willow mouthed to Buffy, somehow managing to convey four exclamation points through miming alone. Biting down her laughter, Buffy said with exaggerated nonchalance to Ms. Calendar, “So you guys <em>really </em>never had this conversation before now?”</p><p>“Never seemed important,” said Giles.</p><p>“Never really needed to,” said Ms. Calendar.</p><p><em>“And,” </em>said Giles, “living in sin with a woman ten years my junior <em>did </em>cause my father <em>thorough </em>discomfort.”</p><p>Ms. Calendar gave him a fist bump. Terrifyingly, Giles returned the gesture without a moment’s hesitation. “Genuinely, guys, it’s not a big deal,” she said with a small shrug. “Anya makes a good point, and I can see why she’s bringing it up now. We <em>should </em>get married.” Twining her fingers with Giles’s, she tugged gently on his hand. “Ready to go?”</p><p>“Indubitably,” said Giles, a small smile dancing across his face as he looked down at Ms. Calendar. Ms. Calendar smiled back just as easily, her eyes sparkling.</p><p>“Nerds,” said Buffy. “You’d <em>better </em>bring me back some candy.”</p><p><em>“Buffy!” </em>said Willow reprovingly, but Ms. Calendar was laughing as Giles tugged her out the door. They stopped on their way out, both of them looking back at the Scoobies in a way that seemed a mixture of affectionate and proud—and then they turned away again, heading towards Giles’s sensible new sedan as the door swung shut behind them.</p><p>“Okay, Buff, <em>clearly </em>you know something,” said Xander immediately, still looking a little shell-shocked. “What gives?”</p><p>“Buffy, you <em>have </em>to tell us,” Willow chimed in. “It isn’t <em>fair </em>if you don’t!”</p><p>“W-well, <em>I’d</em> argue that it isn’t fair to pressure Buffy if she doesn’t <em>want—” </em>Tara began.</p><p>“B, I have girlfriend privileges,” said Faith. “Maybe <em>those </em>losers don’t get to hear it, but I <em>definitely </em>do.”</p><p>“Xander, you broke <em>everything </em>in this!” said a reproving Anya, who had gone back to unpacking boxes.</p><p>Pressing her lips together in an attempt to tamp down her own growing smile, Buffy said, “Oh, I don’t know, guys. You know Giles and Ms. Calendar—they’ve been pretty much married for a <em>lot </em>longer than this. Makes sense that making it official wouldn’t be too much of a big deal for them.”</p><p>“I mean, <em>yeah, </em>but I know that face,” Faith persisted, draping an arm around Buffy’s shoulders. “There’s <em>obviously </em>more.”</p>
<hr/><p>(There was.)</p>
<hr/><p>It had gone like this: Buffy had been doing her Psych homework in the dim lamplight of Giles and Ms. Calendar’s apartment—in a way that was less “doing homework” and more “dozing with her face in a Psych textbook”—and she’d been half-woken from her slumber by the low murmur of voices. Raising her head, she’d realized that Giles and Ms. Calendar were engrossed in quiet conversation above her, both of them clearly under the misapprehension that Buffy was still asleep.</p><p>Buffy had opened her mouth to let them know that she’d be heading home when she’d heard Ms. Calendar say, “But what would this mean in terms of Buffy?”</p><p><em>That </em>got Buffy’s attention. She shut her mouth again.</p><p>“Actually, quite a lot.” Giles’s voice was bubbling over with a furtive excitement. “There’s a training room in the back of the shop, you see—I could run the shop full-time and still spend a significant amount of the day training Buffy. It’d be <em>unprecedented, </em>Jenny, I wasn’t <em>able </em>to train her in my apartment, nor during the midday hours of school when staff members were still on campus—”</p><p>“Yeah, but…” Ms. Calendar let out a soft, nervous breath. “Look, Rupert, I really hate to rain on your parade, especially when it’s clear that this idea makes you really happy. Thing is, I don’t see how it’s economically feasible to run the Magic Box full-time <em>and </em>shut it down for a few hours every day to train Buffy.”</p><p>There was a surprised silence. Then Giles said, “Jenny, I wouldn’t <em>have </em>to shut it down.”</p><p>“What—I mean, are you going to hire another person? Do you even have the funds for that? You dipped <em>way </em>into your savings last year while we were both out of work—”</p><p>Giles laughed a little nervously. “No, I…I wasn’t thinking about hiring another person.”</p><p>“Then what’s your plan? I mean, you’re way too smart to just <em>miss </em>this. Unless you were planning to <em>co-run </em>the shop with someone—but that’s a <em>huge </em>commitment, you’d need to trust that person <em>totally, </em>not to mention that they’d need to <em>completely </em>understand why you’re ducking into the back room after hours. I can’t think of <em>anyone </em>who you’d be okay with legally tying yourself to like that, let alone—” And then Ms. Calendar went abruptly quiet.</p><p>“Oh, I don’t know,” said Giles. “I’m sure you can think of <em>someone.”</em></p><p>After an agonizingly long silence, Ms. Calendar said, weakly, “Yeah, I…yeah. Looks like I was eliminating a pretty obvious candidate, huh?”</p><p>“It’s all right if you don’t want to, you know,” said Giles. His voice was shaking a little.</p><p><em>Why are they being so weird about becoming business partners? </em>thought Buffy. Then, a few seconds later, <em>oh, WAIT—</em></p><p>“I trust you more than I trust <em>anyone,” </em>said Giles. “To tell me when I’m making unwise decisions, to support me in my moments of uncertainty, and to push me out of my sphere of knowledge, towards the undefined unknown. You make me brave enough to take risks, Jenny, and that is <em>exactly </em>the kind of committed long-term partner that I need.”</p><p>Ms. Calendar let out a shaky laugh. “I-I mean, I just never thought—Rupert, this is a <em>lot,” </em>she said. “Starting a business is a really serious investment, and starting a business <em>with </em>someone means you’re going to have to compromise and collaborate a <em>whole </em>lot more than you and I are used to.”</p><p>“You know that’s not true,” said Giles.</p><p>Some more self-conscious part of Buffy was beginning to <em>really </em>think she should have been asleep for this conversation. The part of Buffy whose heart had snapped in half when her parents had divorced couldn’t <em>help </em>but listen to this conversation with rapt attention. In an attempt to bridge the gap, Buffy lowered her head back to her book, closing her eyes—and continuing to listen.</p><p>“You and I have worked <em>endlessly </em>this last year on healthy communication,” Giles was saying. “It’s been immensely difficult, Jenny, but we’ve never not <em>tried, </em>not even in our darkest moments. I’m sure there are still hurdles we’ll have to overcome, but…” He trailed off, his voice softening. “Even in our worst moments, I cannot think of a time where I’ve not been glad to have you by my side. That feels…significant.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’d say so!” said Ms. Calendar, her voice cracking. “I—”</p><p>“Jenny, don’t <em>cry—”</em></p><p>“I’m <em>not </em>crying! This is just—and how can you even tell, anyway? It’s <em>really </em>dark in here!”</p><p>Giles laughed softly. There was a rustle of blankets, and Ms. Calendar exhaled in a kind of sobbing giggle. <em>“Would </em>you, then?” he said.</p><p>“Would I—god, Rupert, I wouldn’t still be in Sunnydale if it wasn’t for you and the kids. Draw up the damn paperwork and I’ll sign wherever you need me to.”</p><p>“And what if I add a stipulation to one of the contracts saying that you’re now legally obligated to do the dishes?”</p><p>“I’d seriously question your sanity, because every time I do the dishes, you get on my case about how they’re <em>just not clean enough,” </em>countered Ms. Calendar. “And anyway, this—” She sniffled, laughing. “I mean, I’ve known for a <em>while </em>that this was a long-term thing, Rupert, but making it legally official…could be good.”</p><p>And <em>there </em>was the weighted subtext that Buffy had picked up on a minute or two ago. Nervously, Giles said, “I-I wasn’t aware that you’d be <em>open </em>to that possibility, Jenny. It really is a significant commitment—”</p><p>“What, opening a business with you?” said Ms. Calendar, overly casual.</p><p>“…Yes. Opening a business with me.”</p><p>“Rupert, I would open a business with you <em>every day of the week. </em>There is nobody I would rather open a business with, and <em>nobody </em>I would rather spend the rest of my life <em>running </em>it with.”</p><p>“—ah,” said Giles in a strangled tone of voice.</p><p><em>Penny: dropped. </em>Buffy smiled into her Psych textbook.</p><p>“Is Buffy still downstairs?” said Ms. Calendar suddenly. Guiltily, Buffy did her best to look as fake-asleep as possible, even though no one could see her. “I don’t think I heard her leave. Should we—”</p><p>“—yes, yes, I’ll drive her home,” said Giles. Then, his voice softening, “And—I’ll call my contact at City Hall, see what we can do about some…extra paperwork.”</p><p>It took absolutely everything in Buffy’s power <em>not </em>to punch the air.</p>
<hr/><p>“Calendar-Giles.”</p><p>“I am <em>not </em>hyphenating, Jenny, there’s no <em>dignity </em>to it. Calendar or nothing.”</p><p>
  <em>“Rupert—”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Calendar or nothing.”</em>
</p><p>“It’s a <em>fake name. </em>You are <em>not </em>gonna take my <em>fake name </em>and use it like it’s a <em>real name. </em>If you <em>want </em>to take my <em>actual name—”</em></p><p><em>“You </em>don’t even like your <em>actual name!”</em></p><p>“Oh my god,” said Buffy. “You guys seriously didn’t work this one out <em>before </em>you got to the registry?”</p><p>Giles and Ms. Calendar turned around, both of them looking a little sheepish at being caught in the middle of a fight (which was patently ridiculous, in Buffy’s opinion, because it was <em>impossible </em>to know Giles and Ms. Calendar for longer than a minute without witnessing one of their weird little flirty bickering sessions). “You didn’t have to come!” said Ms. Calendar, but she looked pretty happy to see them anyway.</p><p><em>“Please,” </em>said Xander. “Will’s been wanting you guys to get hitched since she saw Giles practicing pick-up lines on a chair.”</p><p>Ms. Calendar’s smile widened, her eyes sparkling with mirth. “Since Willow saw <em>what?”</em></p><p><em>“Thank </em>you, Xander,” said Giles, “I somehow managed to keep <em>that </em>mortifying tidbit from her for <em>four years, </em>and now you’ve gone and given her <em>more </em>ammunition.”</p><p>“Did we miss it?” said an anxious Willow, who very clearly hadn’t been listening to the conversation at all. “Did you already get married without us here?”</p><p>“I think the guy’s coming back with the paperwork in a minute?” said Ms. Calendar. “It’s not a particularly romantic process.”</p><p>“But—but vows!” Willow looked <em>extremely </em>upset. “And wedding rings!”</p><p>Ms. Calendar and Giles exchanged a look. Then Ms. Calendar said, “Pretend I said something from that Neruda poem you really like.”</p><p>Giles grinned, his eyes going all soft. “I believe I remember the one.”</p>
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